Klimkin called on France to prevent legalization of annexed Crimea

Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the Senate of France stated that the Senate supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine

KYIV (QHA) -

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin during a meeting with the Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the Senate of France Jean Bizet called on French senators to prevent attempts to legalize the annexation of the Crimea by Russia, according to the information on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

“Pavlo Klimkin drew attention to the situation on the territory of the occupied Crimea and called on the French senators to prevent any attempts to legalize the occupation of the peninsula," reads the message.

In turn, Bizet stated that the French Senate closely watches the development of the situation in Ukraine and supports the official position of Paris - supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

He went on saying that the French senators will continue to critically regard the attempts of individual French politicians to visit the occupied Ukrainian peninsula.

Reference: In 2016, the occupied peninsula was visited by eleven French parliamentarians led by a deputy of the National Assembly and the former Minister of Transport of France Thierry Mariani. French parliamentarians visited the occupied peninsula not for the first time. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry made a statement in connection with the trip of a group of French parliamentarians to the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The actions of politicians were regarded as a manifestation of conscious support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine, their acceptance of the Kremlin's policy of infringing human rights in the occupied peninsula.